The Supreme Court has ruled that the 2nd amendment applies to individual citizens. But how does that affect you? How does it affect the lives of your and your children? Who is packing a pistol? Should you be carrying one too? What you should know before you step out your front door.

If you are anti-guns, or afraid of guns, or just don't like them and don't want them in your house, then this blog is for you.(It might just change your mind)

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Colorado’s gun-control recall: Even those at the epicenter of gun violence don't want gun control (Don't tread on us!)

To someone living on the coasts, the fight in Colorado over gun control — often called by its repackaged name, “gun violence” — might be hard to understand. Restrictions on gun-magazine capacities and background checks for all gun transfers might sound benign. So how could it lead to the first recall elections in the state’s history?

Colorado has more guns than people. More than 100,000 men and women hold concealed-carry permits, so people here largely know how guns actually work. Consequently, we are less likely to be rattled from the emotional spin of anti-gun hysteria. We know guns that look “mean” aren’t actually military machine guns, that they function like any other semi-automatic gun (pull the trigger once and only one bullet comes out), that the ammunition they use isn’t “high-powered,” and so on.

We also know the pain of mass shootings better than most communities. We suffered and grieved over the Columbine High School shooting more than a decade ago. That horror put us through the emotional “blame the gun” gambit. However, when the grieving was done, and with the wisdom that comes from perspective, we learned that mental health maladies were at the center of the carnage.

So when a horrific shooting took place in a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., last year, we were sadly familiar with the emotional process and the anti-gun opportunists who would try to exploit our grief. We were not surprised to learn the accused killer had deep mental health issues.

Reportedly, his problems were so severe that his psychotherapist at the University of Colorado contacted the police to warn them he was a danger to others. That’s where the system broke down. With no criminal record, he passed background checks for gun purchases. This tragedy might have been stopped if we had a system that actually intervenes when experts identify dangerous people like this madman.

Even our Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper used the national airwaves to say the gun wasn’t the issue — the killer’s mental state was. “This is an act of evil. It is somebody who is, who was an aberration of nature. And, you know, if it wasn’t one weapon, it would have been another. I mean, he was diabolical.”

So imagine the shock to Coloradans when some months later, that same governor was pushing gun restrictions on the law-abiding

Led by officials such as Colorado state Senate President John Morse of Colorado Springs and state Sen. Angela Giron of Pueblo, the chairman of a key committee, sweeping restrictions on gun owners were passed into law.
Mr. Morse and Ms. Giron now face the first recalls in state history, and may be pulled from office in mere weeks via the true grass-roots efforts of their own constituents.

The new restrictions might not sound like big deal at first blush. They were so poorly written, though, that they could make nearly all magazines, regardless of capacity, illegal. They render gun transfers so onerous that a gun buy-back in Colorado was just canceled because there is no way for the guns turned in to be destroyed.

So ineffective were these bills that in January, the County Sheriffs of Colorado, speaking unanimously as 62 elected sheriffs, came out to strongly oppose them.

Regrettably, Mr. Hickenlooper refused to accept a single phone call from these sheriffs to hear their concerns.

However, as reported by the investigative news site CompleteColorado.com, he had lengthy phone calls with New York’s anti-gun mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, during the debate. Many legislators received calls from Vice President Joe Biden. At the end of the day, only Democrats voted for the bills.

Mr. Bloomberg’s money and his “consultants” have poured into these recall districts, creating a David versus Goliath battle. Certainly, the recalls in Colorado are about unworkable restrictions on gun owners, but they’re also about who should influence our state government — our own citizens or the rich and powerful from the East.

True Hoplophobia, or the fear of guns, is a mental illness which, like other true phobias, incapacitates its victims with anxiety, shortness of breath, inability to think clearly and rationally. Obviously, we who are fearful of guns and their destructive power don't have true Hoplophobia. But we are still afraid. Why?

DISCLOSURES:

AAs of 1 December 2009, bloggers must disclose any relationship they have with the product they are reviewing. If one doesn't, they could receive a huge fine.

Unless otherwise specified in an individual article, I have not received any goods, services, or fees for reviewing or promoting any service or product through my posts. Not one freebie. Not one penny.

Most of the Ads found on this blog are revenue-generating randomly and automatically generated advertisements by Google ad-sense. I am not in control nor do I necessarily know what those ads are for. Ads which appear on my blog may be from services or of products that I may or may not have not reviewed.

Static ads have also been placed on this blog. Unless otherwise specified, these are non-revenue generating ads which I placed simply because they are relevant. I may or may not have not reviewed their products or services. I have received no goods, services, or fees for this ad placement.

I reserve the right to accept such arrangements in the future, and any such relationships will be posted here.

PRO GUN QUOTES

Gun control:The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her panty hose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound. - L. Neil Smith

Gun control has not worked in D.C. The only people who have guns are criminals. We have the strictest gun laws in the nation and one of the highest murder rates. It's quicker to pull your Smith and Wesson than to dial 911 if you're being robbed. - Lieutenant Lowell Duckett, President Black Police Caucus, Special Assistant to Washington, D.C. Police Chief

They have gun control in Cuba. They have universal health care in Cuba. So why do they want to come here? - Paul Harvey, 1994

Suppose the Second amendment said A well-educated electorate being necessary for self-governance in a free state, the right of the people to keep and read books shall not be infringed. Is there anyone who would suggest that means only registered voters have a right to read? - Robert Levy, Georgetown University Professor

We should not blame a gun itself for any crime or any acts of violence, any more than we can blame a pen for misspelling a word. - Senator Bennett (R-UT), Congressional Record, 5/16/68

When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President of the United States

PRO GUN CONTROL QUOTES

For target shooting, that's okay. Get a license and go to the range. For defense of the home, that's why we have police departments.- James Brady

The most effective means of fighting crime in the United States is to outlaw the possession of any type of firearm by the civilian populace.- Janet Reno

We need to stand firm on behalf of sensible gun control legislation. We have to enact laws that will keep guns out of the hand of children and criminals and mentally unbalanced persons.- Hillary Clinton

Without stronger, sensible gun laws, thousands upon thousands of people will continue to die and be injured needlessly each year.- Brady Campaign

We don't need any additional gun laws, we need to enforce the ones that we've got!- Anonymous

One third of all households with children younger than eighteen have a firearm-Brady Campaign

If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an out-right ban, picking up every one of them... 'Mr. and Mrs. America, turn 'em all in,' I would have done it. I could not do that. The votes weren't here.-Senator Dianne Feinstein

This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration. Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!- Adolph Hitler